The average cost of college tuition nationally has skyrocketed by more than 500 percent since 1985 — just 32 years. While it has finally slowed to a rate near inflation, this may be an anomaly.

Even if it’s a new trend, the University of Colorado — and others in the state — seems to be immune. The Board of Regents recently upped CU-Boulder tuition by 4.9 percent for incoming resident freshmen and 3.2 percent for nonresident freshmen. While tuition will remain steady throughout their four years, the cost is likely to rise for next year’s students. Similar increases face freshmen at other Colorado institutions.

Across the country, state funding of public colleges and universities has been noticeably reduced. Institutions like CU, the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia typically get about 10 percent or less of their funding from their state government. In fact, CU-Boulder nets just 4.4 percent of its income from state funding.

With such a small percentage of support already, the time is ripe to fundamentally reform how state-level higher education is funded.

In a wide-ranging policy paper for the Millennial Policy Center, I recommended that states examine ways to transition their systems from the current fee-for-service subsidy approach (by which states fund public colleges and universities directly) to a more strategic approach. What if the system emphasized student choice, while incentivizing competition and greater fiscal responsibility among colleges and universities?

Colorado already provides a partial blueprint for state-based reforms to help hold down the price of college. Our state offers in-state residents access to the College Opportunity Fund, which provides a stipend to qualified residents paying in-state tuition at participating institutions.

Your typical, eligible student at a community college or public college or university can now obtain up to $10,875 over four years. At participating private colleges (currently just Regis University, University of Denver and Colorado Christian University) the award is currently $5,510 for a participating student — only about half of the stipend for public schools. Some students are eligible for a waiver offering additional funds, up to a 145-credit hour limit. For-profit and vocational schools cannot participate.

The opportunity fund stipend already replaces much of the direct support for colleges and universities that used to come from the state. However, the way the system is structured essentially balances out this number such that total state funding at a given institution remains relatively unchanged. As CU-Boulder Professor Emeritus Barry Poulson observed in a December 2010 Independence Institute analysis, this protects institutions from “compet[ing] for any students, let alone in-state students or underrepresented populations.”

Colorado should take it one step further and lead the nation in adopting an entirely stipend-based funding system, thereby eliminating all direct subsidies. This is a crucial first step to promote meaningful competition for state dollars. Boosting competition will also compel higher ed institutions to be more transparent about which degrees are cost-effective and truly useful for students after they graduate.

Such an opportunity fund voucher would follow students to any qualified public, private or for-profit institution or trade school. The stipend would be valid for up to four years of post-secondary education, but not postgraduate education.

Finally, the voucher would offer an equal amount for all residents, essentially regardless of the institution, rather than providing differing amounts for private versus public schools, or for-profit versus not-for-profit. This importantly will provide equity among private and trade schools, as well as public universities and community colleges.

The cost of college is too high. It is time for a renaissance in how we finance higher education in Colorado and states across the country, one where we encourage a variety of post-secondary options for high school graduates, regardless of politicians’ preferences.

Offering an equitable, universal stipend for in-state residents at any qualified higher-ed institution will inject much-needed competition to bring down costs and provide support for students who wish to attend schools that are better fits for their needs.

Jimmy Sengenberger is president and CEO of the Millennial Policy Center in Denver and the host of “Business for Breakfast” weekday mornings on KDMT 1690 AM.

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by e-mail or mail.

On average, 115 people die each day in this country from overdosing on heroin and similar opioid drugs. Since 1999, we saw a five-fold increase in the number of deaths involving opioids, and they accounted for the majority of overdose fatalities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2015, Colorado saw 159 heroin overdose deaths. This...